Monday, January 13, 2014

This editorial from The State Journal in Frankfort is published in its entirety because the newspaper's editorials are behind a pay wall.

A gag order is a means, usually issued by a court, for restricting information from being made public.

A judge may not want sensitive information from a closed hearing to be
discussed publicly, may need to protect the privacy of victims or
minors, or may feel it necessary to keep trade or military secrets from
being revealed.

Negatively, however, gag orders may also be used as a form of censorship to limit freedom of expression or freedom of the press.

State Journal editorial cartoon by Linda Boileau

Unbelievably, a type of gag order is apparently in existence at Kentucky
State University after being discussed at its Board of Regents meeting
Wednesday in Lexington.

Regents discussed that if approached by a student, staff member or
faculty member, they should refer them to KSU President Mary Sias, who
will in turn speak to Board Chair Karen Bearden to place them on the
agenda to speak at a future board meeting.

Furthermore, the board also discussed how to react when approached by a
reporter wishing to speak to them about a dissenting vote on an issue.
Bearden asked them to respond with “no comment” and inform her about it,
so she could contact Sias about the best way to respond.

This discussion by a public university’s board of regents — at any
college or university — is not only outrageous, but is completely
incongruous with what we hope college students are being taught.

A majority of the regents are not employees of the university. While the
board includes a faculty, staff and student representative, the other
eight are appointed by the governor. No one is higher on the
organizational chart than a member of the Board of Regents. They do not
report to the university president, rather the university president
reports to them.

A member of a school’s faculty or staff may feel so deeply about an
issue he or she wishes to speak to a board member rather than an
administrator. If the policy is to tell that person to instead speak to
the university president, faculty and staff members would certainly be
more reluctant to come forward.

Plus, they may wish to speak in private, not be placed as an item on a future meeting agenda.

The men and women appointed to university boards should be thoughtful,
intelligent people. They have offered to serve in a leadership role at
an institution of higher learning and they bring together diverse and
varied views and backgrounds.

So we refuse to understand why they wouldn’t be allowed to speak — and
more importantly wouldn’t want to speak — to faculty, staff or a member
of the press.

We know we are outraged by the actions of the board and we believe
others should be as well, among them the governor, the taxpayers, the
faculty, the staff and the students.

The members of the Board of Regents are not appointed to be puppets and
mimes. They are appointed to be independent thinking individuals willing
to express their viewpoints.

There are important reasons why laws govern open meetings and open
records, especially that the public has the right to know how its tax
dollars are being spent.

Similarly, appointed and elected individuals should have every right to
speak freely to those they oversee and those who report on their
actions.

That the Kentucky State University Board of Regents would essentially
decide to say no comment until they ask the university president how
they should respond is a slap in the face of all that governing boards
should be about.

We suggest the members of the KSU Board of Regents undo this ridiculous
policy or let the governor find people willing to intelligently speak to
the public that he can appoint to replace them.